


Those Who Favor Fire

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Paint The Sky With Stars [22]
Category: Night World - Fandom, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Witches, Crossover, Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 21:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7137932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the horoscope comment_fic prompt: "Stargate Atlantis, Rodney McKay, Element: Fire. This is the element that works so to the benefit of those born under the April 18 zodiac, of those who are brave and follow their plans independently and who are quick to reveal their heated nature at times."</p><p>Rodney has a plan, and it involves fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those Who Favor Fire

“That’s crazy,” John said.

Rodney glared at him. “It is not. I think it’s a perfectly reasonable plan. Given the fact that we're in a different galaxy from home and we’re at war with both life-sucking vampires and angry indigenous peoples with A-bomb capabilities, I’d like to have as many resources as possible at my disposal. You said witches could cast fireballs or whatever. I have the gene. I'm a witch. Teach me magic.”

John turned to look at Evan, who threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

“This is all your fault,” John said.

Evan raised his eyebrows. “How so, sir?”

“You told him he has magic.”

“He was upset and making the ground shake.”

“Look, I’m not great at magic,” John said. He sighed. “I lived as a vampire till I was fourteen. I mean, yes, I went along to Samhain and participated in rituals, but I was just there to lend willpower, not to really cast. I can only do really basic things.”

“What constitutes basic?” Rodney asked. “Fireballs?”

“It’s called witchfire,” John said testily, “and that's not basic.”

“What about Carson? Could he teach me?”

“Also no,” John said, “because he’s a doctor and his focus is healing magic. It’s the Beckett way.”

“What’s the Sheppard way?”

“Making money,” John said.

“Then what use is your magic?” Rodney demanded.

“I can fly puddle jumpers and use the Control Chair, and Atlantis likes me better than she likes you.” John smirked, smug.

Evan cleared his throat. “If I may.”

“Yes, Major?”

Rodney frowned. “Shapeshifters don’t have magic.”

“Not anymore,” Evan agreed placidly, and John was so, so glad that he didn’t flinch, because it was something no one dared talk about, ever.

“However,” Evan continued, “my cousin Thea is a member of Circle Daybreak, and I'm pretty sure she or some other witch in her acquaintance knows how to cast witchfire.”

“Cousin Thea? Thea Harman?”

“Distant cousins, obviously.” Evan smiled wryly. “Don’t worry, Sheppard. We weren’t those kind of cousins.”

“What kind of cousins?” Rodney asked.

“The kissing kind,” Evan said mildly, and John made a face.

Rodney winced. “Right. So, you think you can ask your other cousin about how to cast witchfire?”

“Given that I am a shapeshifter, maybe it would be more prudent if you asked her, sir,” Evan said to John.

John sighed. He hadn’t spoken to Thea or Blaise since high school.

“Blaise is more likely to teach you,” Evan said. “You know her penchant for fire.”

“Thea knows you better,” John said, “and she won’t think you’re up to anything...hinky. Can you email her in the next data burst?”

Rodney’s eyes lit. “So you’ll teach me?”

John closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes. Just - let’s start with something small. Major, do we have any candles?”

“We do have some emergency tapers. But if you’re talking about a focus candle, I believe Teyla has a considerable supply.”

John thought of Teyla’s fancy scented candles and winced internally. “Right. I'll talk to Teyla. Email Thea and get back to me.”

Evan nodded. “Yes, sir.” He turned to head for his quarters and send that email - because he was that kind of person - but John was pretty sure he’d seen Evan smirking as he went.

Rodney followed John down to the training hall where Teyla and Ronon were running combat drills with the Marines.

“I thought you said you couldn’t cast fire,” he said.

“Witchfire isn’t actually fire. It’s more of an energy blast.” John had made it a point to be as honest as possible about himself with Rodney, even before they’d become lovers, but talking about this was just uncanny. “Creating fire is actually a very basic skill.”

They waited on the sidelines for Teyla to finish her bantos drills, then approached her.

“John, Rodney.” She smiled. “What can I do for you?”

“Can we have one of your candles?” John asked. “I need to teach Rodney some meditation exercises, and we need a candle to focus on.”

“Of course,” Teyla said, but she looked skeptical. That was understandable, given how John had failed to teach Rodney how to meditate when he was Ascending and it was meditate-or-die. “Do you need one right away, or shall I bring one to your quarters?”

John started to speak, but Rodney said, “The sooner, the better.”

“Of course. I will bring one to the commissary when we meet for lunch.” Teyla smiled, and then she packed up her bag and headed for the locker rooms.

Rodney was itching to get started on the whole magic thing, and John really did wish that Evan had never given Rodney the idea that he had magic, because it would spread, and the notion of a bunch of Marines with the gene wandering around Atlantis trying to set things on fire with their minds was just a little bit horrifying. (And maybe John had never quite gotten over his inherent vampiric fear of fire.) Rodney sent John messages all day asking when he would be done with his duties, had he heard back from Evan (even though data burst day was tomorrow and then they’d have to wait till the next data burst day to get a reply from Thea), and John was going to go crazy, because Rodney was acting like the most irritating clingy high school girlfriend ever. (And hadn’t that been a disaster, marrying the woman his father had decided was his high school sweetheart. Nancy Drache was many things, but a sweetheart was not one of them.)

After supper, Rodney followed John back to his quarters, practically vibrating with energy.

“So, where’s the candle? Are we going to try it? Are we ready? Are we -”

John silenced him with a kiss. “Slow down. You need to relax.”

“But I -”

John started untucking Rodney’s shirt, skating his fingertips over Rodney’s bare skin. “Rodney,” he said firmly, “you need to relax. Let's get you calm.”

Rodney’s breath hitched when John reached for the fly of his pants. “This isn’t going to keep me calm.”

John leaned in and nibbled at Rodney’s throat, smiled against Rodney’s skin when he moaned. “Oh, but you will be so relaxed when I'm done with you. All the tension of the day, gone.”

Afterwards, they lay in a tangled and sweaty pile on John’s bed.

Rodney smiled happily. “Yeah, good plan. I’m pretty relaxed. So, how does this whole thing work?”

John nodded at the candle on the nightstand. “Think it alight.”

Rodney turned and squinted at the candle.

“No, relax,” John whispered, smoothing Rodney’s brow with a fingertip. “Don’t strain yourself. Let the energy flow out of you and into the candle.”

Rodney closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and John felt it, the shift in energy that meant magic was in the air.

The candle exploded, and John’s nightstand went up in flames.

“Holy Isis!” John leaped out of the bed, scooped up the nearest blanket and started trying to smother the flames.

“It worked,” Rodney said.

John glared at him. “Put it out!”

“How? With my mind?”

“Go get some damn water from the bathroom!”

Rodney was halfway to the bathroom when the fire alarm went off.


End file.
